Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan, through its canadianfoodfocus.org web site, has released the first of a series of videos to help non-farming consumers relate to farmers and life on the farm.

Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan Executive Director Clinton Monchuk says Canadian Food Focus was viewed as an opportunity to get out of our agriculture bubble.

Shaping sustainability standards and what it means to the agriculture sector. This was the focus of a presentation at the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association annual meeting by Dr. Tammy Nemeth, is a U.K.-based Energy Security Analyst.

Nemeth, originally from Saskatchewan, says the requirements the International Sustainability Standards Board would impose on agriculture would be onerous and detrimental to the industry.

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Saskatchewan Pulse Growers (SPG) launches a new strategic plan with a new focus on priorities with the greatest impact to pulse growers in Saskatchewan, looking ahead to 2030.

SPG Executive Director Carl Potts explains the plan is built on direction from its nine-member Board of Directors-made up of farmers. The new plan highlights four key focus areas.

The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities is urging rural residents to run for municipal council and truely make a difference in their communities.

SARM President Ray Orb says many RMs have vacancies on councils, and this presents an opportunity for individuals to get involved with the issues that directly affect daily life for the people in rural Saskatchewan and SARM has created a new video to discuss some common misconceptions around rural representation.

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The introduction of new technology has helped revolutionize the application of livestock manure fertilizer to cropland.

This is an important topic as we examine the influence of modern agriculture on the environment and calls for the creation of a provincially appointed task group to develop solutions to the algae problem in Lake Winnipeg.

Manitoba Pork General Manager Cam Dahl says the modernization of agriculture is making the application of manure more precise.

A mid-sized chicken farm in Saskatchewan needs to heat the barns to above 30 degrees the entire year-round. In 2023, this chicken farmer paid $23,000 in natural gas heating bills. Of that bill, about a third, or $7,500 is just carbon tax and GST on the carbon tax.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation released Leger polling showing 70 per cent of Canadians support a carbon tax exemption on propane and natural gas for farmers. CTF Prairie Director Gage Haubrich said this shows Canadians know that keeping costs down for farmers helps lower costs at the grocery store for all of us.

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The world is closely watching the situation in the United States surrounding  
Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza that has appeared in US dairy herds. HPAI was detected in milk and in dairy cattle in Texas and Kansas, while the virus has been confirmed in dairy herds in other states, in baby goats and one dairy farm worker has tested positive for the virus.

Veterinary pathologist  Dr. Susan Detmer with the Western College of Veterinary Medicine suggests biosecurity procedures in place on Canadian swine farms to protect against the introduction of foreign animal disease will help protect against other infections, including HPAI.

Detmer will talk about how the infection virus has been traveling through wild birds returning to North America.

A new opportunity this summer for anyone wanting to learn more about Saskatchewan agriculture and food. Saskatchewan will hold its first Open Farm Days August 10 and 11 which will bring people from across province together through educational and agricultural-based initiatives all designed to create an opportunity to learn about where food comes from.

Sask Open Farm Days cooordinator Ashley Stone says many other provinces have enjoyed success hosting this event and they are hoping to build on that success.

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The subject of Family Farm succession is complex and emotional. That's why we felt it was topic that was worthy of being the focus of the entire podcast this week.

While discussions surrounding succession can be difficult there are strategies available to Canadian farm business families to confidently navigate the paths of transition decision making. My guest is Patti Durand, a certified Family Enterprise Advisor, with Brightrack Consulting.Over the past six years she's guided 350 farm families through transition and succession conversations.

As a speaker and workshop leader, Patti provides relatable, thoughtful ideas to help business families move ahead, together and with certainty. I'll talk to Patti about nine habits worth adjusting and shifting to in the conversation of the future of the family farm.

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A Farm Credit Canada report shows farmland rental rates are keeping pace with farmland values.

FCC has been comparing rental rates to the price of farmland and the data shows the national rent-to-price ratio in 2023 was 2.52 per cent, reflecting a decline from the previous year.

FCC Senior Economist Justin Shepherd says in 2023 we saw some fairly strong farmland value growth across the prairies, especially in Saskatchewan as well as Manitoba, while Alberta had a little bit slower growth, but it was still positive.

Seeding is underway in Manitoba.  While other parts of the prairies started the season on the dry side, its a different story in Manitoba. Rain has slowed spring seeding but will give this year's crops a good start.

Dennis Lange is a pulse and soybean specialist with Manitoba Agriculture and the editor of the provincial crop report. He'll tell us about seeding progress and where that number compares with previous year.

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The Western Canadian Animal Health Network (WeCAHN)  is keeping a close watch on H5N1 Avian Flu in the United States. Network coordinator  Dr. Barbara Wilhelm says industry, the provinces, the federal government, veterinarians, regional surveillance networks like WeCAHN,are planning for, as much as possible, prevent the opportunity for Avian Influenza to enter Canadian farms.

Grain movement on CN Rail lines has been fairly consistent with strong demand April. CN's Assistant Vice-President of Grain David Przednowek says we haven't seen that seasonal drop-off that ususally happens during seeding, but that could be because spring seeding has been slow to develop. Going forward, he expects that we'll start to see demand tail, with just the amount of grain that's able to come into the supply chain as farmers are in the field.

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The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) was disappointed to see insufficient investment in agriculture in the 2024 budget. President Keith Currie said farmers continue to struggle under the weight of high-interest rates, a price on carbon for essential farming activities, and an increased risk of extreme weather events.

He said these challenges are testing the limits and effectiveness of risk management programs.But he said there were also some positives in the budget. The Competition Bureau has stated the proposed acquisition of Viterra by Bunge would have ‘substantial anti–competitive effects in agricultural markets in Canada.

The Bureau’s concerns are outlined in a report submitted to the Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez.The Bureau determined that the transaction is likely to harm competition in markets for grain purchasing in Western Canada, as well as for the sale of canola oil in Eastern Canada. Saskatchewan Wheat development commission chair Jake Leguee said its a concern of many farm groups.

Leguee will also responds to the appointment of the new Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission.

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The farming industry is constantly changing. New innovations are being developed to make farms more efficient. A research project involving a Naicam Sask. Consulting company and the University of Regina are looking for a way to reduce environmental impact and save money. 

Cory Willness of Crop Pro Consulting will talk about SWAT BOX, a data collection sensor and how information it collects can be used to generate maps that will help farmers selectively apply herbicides.  

Everyone needs to eat. That’s why Canadians and governments should not take farming and food for granted. That’s the message from Kerri Holland with the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy who prepared a report on Canada’s Food Security. 

Holland says food security is vital and government policy must reflect the essential service agriculture provides for the entire country. She says there will be dire consequences if farmers don’t get the support they need.  

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Computer based artificial intelligence is offering new insights into animal welfare. A new tool being developed by the University of Saskatchewan is using A.I.at the abattoir.

The University of Saskatchewan's Western College of Veterinary Medicine and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering have developed an automated swine welfare assessment system consisting of a digital security camera linked to an A.I. processor. Dr. Seokbum Ko explains how cameras record animal movement along the processing line and condensed AI models extract and assess images indicative of animal welfare.

The 10th Annual Saskatchewan Beef Expo was recently held in Saskatoon. Kirk Stierwalt, a long-time cattle operator and clinician from Leedey, Oklahoma has been conducting show cattle clinics for 37 years. He worked with the 4-H members at Beef Expo providing guidance on clipping, grooming and showmanship.

He'll talk about some of the tip and tricks he shared with the young 4-Hers.

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